This invention relates to an apparatus and method for opening a flattened tubular member, for example, a cap seal and a label, and automatically and successively applying the tubular member over a predetermined portion of an article, for example, a bottle and the like.
There has been disclosed the apparatus of this type, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 63-29, which includes a feed roller for feeding a continuous web of a flattened tubular material towards a mandrel and applied over the same for opening the flattened tubular material, a cutting unit disposed between the feed roller and the mandrel for cutting an individual tubular member from the web, and a rotary member abutting against the tubular member on the mandrel for pulling down the tubular material towards a lower portion of the mandrel via its rotational movement.
In accordance with the above arrangement, because of the need to stop the feeding operation of the tubular material during cutting operation, the feed roller cannot continuously feed the tubular material to the cutting unit. This generally limits the speed at which the tubular member can be applied over an article.
The apparatus of this arrangement requires the steps of applying the tubular material over the mandrel from above, cutting the individual tubular member from the tubular material by the cutting unit, and pulling down the same by the rotary member. Accordingly, if the tubular material is successively fed, it is likely that the rotary member pulls the tubular material which is still in a continuous form. This may cause untimely feeding of the tubular member, and poor application of the same over the article.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for applying the tubular members over the article at high speed, while securing timely and rapid feeding operation, even if the tubular material is successively fed.